The present invention relates to heating assemblies and, in particular, to an assembly for warming medical instrumentation, such as a stethoscope.
An inconvenience to many medical practitioners and corresponding irritation to the patient occurs during any examination which requires contacting the patient with cold diagnostic instruments, such as a stethoscope. Although the examination procedure may be painless, an instinctive flinching reaction occurs with the first touch of a relatively cold instrument. This reaction may be exagerated due to patient anxiety.
That is, the instrumentation is typically maintained at room temperature, while the patient's body temperature may be some 20 to 40 degrees higher. The relative temperature differential thus tends to induce a skin reaction such as "goose bumps". More commonly, however, the patient flinches or pulls away from contact with the instrument, thus necessitating a firm hand hold on the patient. Otherwise, the instrument must be positionally readjusted to the patient with further patient discomfort.
The thermal differential can be reduced if the practitioner contains the stethoscope within his/her lab coat or if the instrument is held briefly within the hand prior to use. Such practices are not commonly performed. Also, with the modernization of most medical practices, each examination room is typically outfitted with separate sets of diagnostic instruments, for example, stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, oxygen equipment and the like and the practioner may therefore not even carry a stethoscope. Economic pressures to maximize patient loading, also minimizes the time spent with each patient, which further adds to the formality of routine examinations and heightens patient anxiety. Small details, such as pre-warming diagnostic instruments can thus take on added significance to the patient.
Except for the foregoing warming methods, Applicant is unaware of any dedicated device for economically performing the same function. Although sterilizers, or other elaborate equipment used during intrusive procedures may obtain a similar result, Applicant through his numerous years of practice is unaware of any low cost, dedicated device intended for use with diagnostic equipment.